On Turning Ten

Light appears as a repeated motif in three out of the five stanzas, shown as a complex symbol with both positive and negative connotations. The first reference is to headaches triggered by “a bad light” (Line 4). Interestingly, “light” is presented here as a singular noun, suggesting one type of light among many. It is a tangible, material, and containable type of light, likely a dim reading lamp or a flashlight. The next mention of light is “the late afternoon light” (Line 18), which has taken on a melancholy appearance. This light is also bigger and less controllable than the light mentioned in the earlier stanza. The “late afternoon” (Line 18) suggests a passing of time, the golden glory of midday slipping away into evening. The final mention of the motif comes in the last stanza, “nothing under my skin but light” (Line 29). It’s notable that in its final iteration it becomes an abstract noun, compared to “a light” and “the light” (Lines 4, 18) of the previous stanzas; here it simply “light,” something much bigger and more uncontainable. This is arguably light at its brightest and most powerful; it symbolizes all of the magic and hope and potential that existed in the child, now mixed with the cold and harsh reality of sidewalks and blood.